James Macmillan

December 8 Program Notes: James MacMillan James MacMillan (b. 1959) seeing the pleasure his coal-miner who simultaneously pursues an The most recent previous score grandfather found in music. In 1990, international conducing career, MacMillan titled a symphony is the Symphony No. 4 MacMillan first came to international also runs a new music festival in his Symphony No. 3, “Silence,” from 2002, notice with the premiere of The home town of Cumnock, which he which made reference to a novel by Born on July 16, 1959 in Kilwinning, Confession of Isobel Gowdie at the BBC established in 2014. the Japanese writer Shusaku Endo. Scotland, James MacMillan currently The Symphony No. 4, however, marks resides in Cumnock, Scotland. MacMillan Proms. Retelling the story of a woman “In an age when populism and a significant departure from such composed his Symphony No. 4 in 2014/15 on who had been burned as a witch in modernism seem like irreconcilable programmatic elements, whether a co-commission from Berkeley Symphony 17th-century Scotland during a terrible poles,” writes the BBC’s Stephen sacred or secular. It focuses on what with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra period of fanaticism, this work had Johnson, “James MacMillan’s music the composer calls “rituals of music” and Pittsburgh Symphony. a remarkable impact, proving the continues to hold out the hope of composer’s mastery of large-scale integration, the healing of painful spanning centuries, from the Scottish First performance: Donald Runnicles led orchestral writing and his ability to divisions, of transcendence.” The key Renaissance composer Robert Carver the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra com-municate with a wider audience. to this accomplishment can perhaps (c. 1485-1570) to hints of Olivier in the world premiere on 3 August 2016 It heralded the career breakthrough be found, Johnson suggests, in the Messiaen. Cast in one ever-changing, at Royal Albert Hall in London; with this for one of the pre-eminent composers Scottish composer’s natural gift ever-transforming movement, the performance, Berkeley Symphony is giving of our time. for storytelling through the vehicle music of this new symphony suggests the U.S. premiere. The Symphony No. 4 is of music. Many of these narratives the process of time’s passage itself. scored for 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), Two years later, also at the Proms, draw on MacMillan’s faith as a devout And for all its abstraction, it may be 2 oboes (2nd doubling English horn), 2 MacMillan’s fellow Scot and Catholic—overtly, as in his St. Luke experienced as a “spiritual journey,” as clarinets (2nd doubling bass clarinet), percussion virtuoso Evelyn Glennie and St. John Passion settings, or The Scotsman observed after the world bassoon, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 introduced Veni, Veni, Emmanuel, his programmatically, as found in the premiere at last summer’s BBC Proms. trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, 3 highly influential first per-cussion Piano Concerto No. 3 (“The Mysteries The conductor was another fellow percussionists (glockenspiel, aluphone, concerto that boasts a track record of Light,” from 2008), inspired by Scot, Donald Runnicles, to whom xylophone, vibraphone, small triangle, of nearly 500 hundred performances meditations associated with the MacMillan dedicated his Symphony temple bowls (dobaci), timbales, cymbals, around the world. But along with his Rosary, or in the tone poem Woman No. 4 in honor of his 60th birthday. tubular bells, steel drum, tom-tom, bass success as an orchestral composer, the of the Apocalypse (2012), a musical drum, tuned gongs, snare drum, sizzle James MacMillan has provided the prolific MacMillan has become known reflection on artistic representations cymbal, suspended cymbal, tam-tam), following commentary on his Symphony as a master of contemporary choral of a scene from the Book of Revelation. harp, piano(celesta), and strings. Duration: No. 4: music through his two Passion settings Similarly, the first of MacMillan’s approximately 37 minutes. and other works of sacred music. symphonies—unnumbered but My earlier three symphonies employed (As of the date this program went to subtitled “Vigil” (1997)—is the programmatic elements, whether ir James MacMillan, who was born press, he had just been shortlisted final part of Triduum, an orchestral exploring poetic imagery or literary S in 1959 in the town of Kilwinning, for the 2016 British Composer Awards triptych related to the celebration of references, but this new work is south of Glasgow on Scotland’s in the category of choral music.) His Easter. Religion has been central to essentially abstract. I’m interested west coast, developed an interest extensive catalogue also encompasses MacMillan’s self-understanding as a here in the interplay of different in composing while still a child. He three operas, music theater pieces, composer, much as it was for J.S. Bach types of material, following upon a recalls that the impetus came from and chamber music. MacMillan, and Anton Bruckner. fascination with music as ritual that December 8, 2016 December 8, 2016 has stretched from Monteverdi in the most important Scottish composer of early 17th century through to Boulez the High Renaissance, whose intricate and Birtwistle in the present day. multi-part choral music I’ve loved There are four distinct archetypes in since performing it as a student. There the symphony, which can be viewed are allusions to his 10-voice Mass Dum as rituals of movement, exhortation, sacrum mysterium embedded in my work petition, and joy. These four ideas are and at a number of points it emerges juxtaposed in quick succession from from across the centuries in a more the outset, over the first five minutes discernible form. The vocal lines are or so. As the work progresses these can muted and muffled, literally in the be individually developed in an organic distance, as they are played delicately way, or can co-mingle, or they can be by the back desks of the violas, cellos, opposed and argumentative. and double basses. Over a slow-moving tread, an angular, As the music gets faster we hear modal melody is heard on muted some of the main themes recurring trumpet and oboe, accompanied by a in different contexts, becoming more sonorous chorale on English horn and fanfare-like and animated. Ideas horns. The first of many imperceptible are stretched and developed but accelerations brings forward clarinets continually thrown forwards. A kind and solo violas in an urgent and of interplay develops between the insistent theme revolving around just “ancient” music and the speeding up a few adjacent notes. Above this the process, even when the symphony pleading strings splay out downwards, seems to “begin again,” this time becoming more animated, leading to in a related mode. The cello section the first quick and joyful music on wind, gradually emerges as a principal xylophone, and piano, interrupted by protagonist, pulling the music to a rushing strings. In broad terms, from serene and ethereal core, featuring here the symphony has a trajectory resonating temple bowls. from slow to fast: the pace may step The earlier splaying strings are heard back for some more reflective episodes, again, almost in a mirror image before but there is a general cranking-up of the music takes a few dramatic twists tempo and energy driving through the leading to its final acceleration. single movement. The work as a whole is also a homage to Robert Carver, the —© Sir James MacMillan December 8, 2016 December 8, 2016.

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